A new way to dodge city traffic? Hover car trial planned for Tel Aviv

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This was published 9 years ago

A new way to dodge city traffic? Hover car trial planned for Tel Aviv

By Jolyon Attwooll
Will this be the future of city travel?

Will this be the future of city travel?Credit: skytran.com

Companies behind a new trial in Tel Aviv hope that this elevated hover car will change the way we get around in the future.

Visitors to Tel Aviv may one day be able to dodge the city’s traffic in a novel way – by travelling in a network of hover cars suspended above the ground.

According to a BBC report, a 500m loop for two-man “jet-like” vehicles will shortly be built on the grounds of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

This "high-speed, energy-efficient, transportation system" is designed to help congested cities.

This "high-speed, energy-efficient, transportation system" is designed to help congested cities.Credit: skytran.com

Described as a “high-speed, energy-efficient, transportation system”, the network has been patented by skyTran, a California-based company.

It says the system has been designed to “transport passengers in a safe, green, and economical manner”, and hopes it will one day be put into wide use in congested cities around the world.

Its ambitions include an aim to “revolutionise public transportation and, with it, urban and suburban commuting”.

Using Magnetic Levitation technology, the system will be tested and refined on the IAI campus – the most substantial trial to date. It is due to be up and running by the end of next year, the BBC reports.

The hover cars in the trial will travel at around 43 miles per hour, although they are capable of much higher speeds.

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If the Tel Aviv prototype succeeds, the two companies say they expect the network would be implemented on a commercial basis in the city.

If put in place, the system would allow locals and visitors to order a vehicle to a station by smartphone then head to their destination.

Jerry Sanders of skyTran described the Tel Aviv project as “a breakthrough”.

The Telegraph, London

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